Would you like to join a forward-thinking team that includes Consultant Pharmacists in Cancer and Palliative Care, Highly Advanced/Advanced Cancer Pharmacists, and the first Advanced Cancer Pharmacy Technicians in the UK? This role offers an opportunity to work with nationally and internationally recognized experts in the field.
Based at Horton General Hospital in Banbury, you will travel to inpatient units in Banbury and Oxford. You will work with one of only two Consultant Palliative Care Pharmacists in the UK and an Advanced Palliative Care Pharmacist, providing innovative and individualized care.
We welcome applications from Band 6 pharmacists completing their clinical pharmacy diplomas/MScs in 2025.
Key roles include:
• Providing high-quality pharmaceutical care to adult palliative care patients
• Clinical checking of systemic anticancer treatments and clinical trial prescriptions
• Participating in multidisciplinary ward rounds
• Non-medical prescribing in multidisciplinary clinics
• Verifying outpatient prescriptions
• Conducting incident investigations and reporting
• Performing clinical pharmacy audits
• Contributing to guidelines and policies
• Weekend and bank holiday rota, covering clinical pharmacy
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trustis one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.
The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.
Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community.We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel.
Clinical and Professional Practice
1. To provide a ward-based clinical pharmacy service according to Trust agreed standards including:
· Individual prescription review to optimise therapy
· Confirmation of the patient’s medication history
· Advice on dosage, side-effects, cautions and monitoring required
· Advise on administration of medicines
· Appropriate and clear endorsing of prescriptions to ensure safe practice
· Monitor the effect and appropriateness of medication
· Education of patients on their medication
· Involvement in discharge planning and provision of discharge medication
2. To provide clinical pharmacy cover to other ward areas within the team on a reciprocal basis.
3. To ensure medicines are used appropriately, safely and cost-effectively in accordance with Trust policy, standard operating procedures and medicines legislation.
4. To monitor medicines use within the ward area. This includes recording of significant clinical interventions and risk management including:
· Participation in investigating clinical incidents
· Recording significant clinical incidents/near misses
· Ensuring compliance with medicines legislation and local policies
5. To use available information to influence prescribers and ensure the most cost-effective choice of therapy.
6. To participate in ward rounds, clinical meetings or out-patient clinics as appropriate in order to provide pharmaceutical advice to prescribers and other health care professional.
7. To liaise with external agencies to ensure safe, timely and appropriate supply to patients e.g. Baxter, Homecare companies etc, where appropriate.
8. To participate in ward-based clinical audits and the development and implementation of treatment protocols and guidelines for use of medicines within the clinical area.
9. To tutor rotational clinical pharmacists undertaking the Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy, following formal accreditation as a tutor by Cardiff University, or other university and to tutor other pharmacists and pre-registration students in the clinical area.
10. To act as a role model and mentor for clinical pharmacy.
11. To undergo accreditation to write discharge prescriptions for patients, where appropriate.
12. To provide teaching for the pharmacy and directorate teams as required.
13. To act as knowledge base/resource for the specialist area and to keep up to date with current trends and research in the specialist area.
14. With the rest of the members of the clinical pharmacy team to support the strategic developments of the service e.g. electronic prescribing, improved discharge processes, accredited technician checking etc.
15. Actively contribute to the planning and efficient co-ordination of clinical pharmacy initiatives including discharge planning, prescribing protocols, pharmacists on consultant ward rounds etc.
16. To contribute to and implement the clinical governance plans of the clinical area and the pharmacy clinical governance plans.
17. To provide clinical pharmacy services to Oncology and Haematology Directorate which may include the following:
17.1 Provide an onsite and remote service to inpatient palliative care units (Katharine House Hospice (Banbury) and Sobell House Hospice (Oxford)).
17.2 To clinically screen all chemotherapy prescriptions (including oral, injectable and clinical trial drugs) according to locally agreed standards, following a period of competency-based training and assessment.
17.3 To be accredited in the appropriate aspects of handling intra-thecal chemotherapy e.g. screening, issuing etc. within the recommendations of current legislation.
17.4 To be involved in the development and maintenance of the computerised chemotherapy prescribing system (Aria) across the Oncology & Haematology Directorate for all injectable and oral chemotherapy, and to ensure that it is used effectively and appropriately at ward and day case level. This includes entering the protocols onto the system, double-checking the master prescriptions for accuracy, liaising with the cancer pharmacy team and consultants for final approval of the protocols. To be involved in training and providing support to the users of the computerised chemotherapy prescribing system.
17.5 To be involved in the development, maintenance, and review of cancer chemotherapy and supportive care drug protocols defined by the SACT Operational Group and multidisciplinary teams. This includes prescribing protocols and drug administration guidelines.
17.6 To be involved in the preparation of new drug submissions for the Trust Medicines Management and Therapeutics Committee with Consultant colleagues. To provide resources to ensure safe implementation of new technology into clinical practice.
17.7 To assist with review of sections of the Trust formulary relevant to the specialist area.
17.8 To be involved in the implementation of relevant local, network and national standards including service guidelines and technology appraisals produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
17.9 To attend and contribute to Cancer Pharmacy Team Meetings.
18. To ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times.
19. To be professionally accountable for actions and advice.
20. To use experience and clinical judgment to assist in problem-solving and troubleshooting within the Pharmacy department.
21. To give professional support to the site operational managers.
22. To support the dispensaries by participating in the screening and checking prescriptions and dispensed items at a mutually convenient time as part of a rota (current commitment is 2 hours per working week and one whole weekend day every six weeks).
23. To participate in weekend and bank holiday working according to rota.
24. Any other reasonable duties as requested by the Chief Pharmacist.
25. To participate in any future 7 day working patterns should the pharmacy department change its current working practices
This advert closes on Tuesday 25 Mar 2025
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